Man divides social media after standing on flight 'for 6 hours' so his wife could lie across the seats

A man's unusual "romantic" gesture has stirred a heated debate online, as he allegedly chose to stand for six hours during a flight so his wife could stretch out and sleep across a row of three seats.

As Bruno Mars once sang: "I'd catch a grenade for you, Throw my hand on a blade for you, I'd jump in front of a train for you, You know I'd do anything for you." Of course, very few people know of the forgotten line: "I'd stand on a flight for six hours and give up the entire row of seats for you (Yeah, yeah, yeah)".

I jest - but that's actually what one man was spotted doing on a long-haul flight.

Entrepreneur Courtney Lee Johnson shared a photograph of the man's selfless act on X, along with the caption: "This guy stood up the whole six hours so his wife could sleep. Now that is love."

In the image, a man can be seen standing in the aisle of the plane, leaning on the tops of two seats, while a woman - believed to be his wife - comfortably occupies all three seats by lying down.

The photo quickly went viral on the social media platform, amassing more than 13,000 likes and sparking hundreds of comments. However, opinions on the gesture varied widely, with many questioning whether it truly represented "true love."

One person critical of the gesture wrote: "This is not love, its toxic. Why will he stand for six hours and she is not bothered?"

Another agreed, writing: "We need to let go of this idea of love that involves suffering."

A third asked: "So you're telling me she couldn't rest her head on his lap and sleep?"

There were also plenty of X users who questioned the validity of Johnson's claim - arguing that no commercial flight could let anybody stand in the aisle for six hours.

But this isn't the first selfless plane act to go viral.

Over on Reddit, user 'therra123' shared a photo of a father cradling his daughter's dead so that she could sleep easy. "This man kept his hand in this position for 45 minutes so his daughter could sleep well," the post was captioned.

Shared in the 'MadeMeSmile' subreddit, it once again wasn't long before people shared their opinions on the act.

"That’s parenting done right," one person commented, with a second adding: "Part of the job. It doesn’t change just because they aren’t babies anymore."

"She may not realize it now, but she’ll always remember the comfort of her father's hand in that moment," a third commented.

However, not everybody agreed that the moment was such a sweet one, with many social media users agreeing that there had to be a better solution available.

"I feel like… I feel like there’s a better way," one Redditor commented, with another critic adding: "It's cute until you give it a moment's thought to realize there were 100 better solutions."

So, what do you think? An act of true love? A gesture comparable to Rose not budging up so Jack could fit on the door? Or a complete lie altogether? Let us know in the comments.

Featured image credit: Constantine Johnny / Getty